A shared memory multiprocessor system includes multiple interconnected processors that share a common memory. The interconnection and the processing power provided by the shared memory multiprocessor system decreases the amount of time required to execute an application. From the perspective of the application, the application may be designed such that portions of the application may execute in parallel by the processors in the shared memory multiprocessor system.
For example, consider the scenario in which an application is designed to calculate the amount of precipitation across a region based upon a set of measured amounts of precipitation that are dispersed throughout the region. In such a scenario, the application may be designed such that each processor in the shared memory multiprocessor system calculates the precipitation for a sub-region of the region. If, for example, the shared memory multiprocessor system has four processors, then each processor may determine the precipitation for one quarter of the region. The processors may obtain and collate data using an initialization step and a finalization step. Further, during calculations, processors responsible for neighboring sub-regions may communicate calculations for the borders of the sub-region.